Marine propulsion system



July 1, 1941. w. J. BESLER MARINE PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Dec. 23, 1938 July I, 1941. w. J. iBESLER 2,247,595

MARINE PROPULSION SYSTEM Filed Dec. 23 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 (Ittornegiatented July 1, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MARINE PROPULSIONSYSTEM William .1. Dealer, Piainiield, N. J. Application December 23,1938, Serial No. 247,502 3 Claims. (Ci. 60-6) This invention relates tomarine propulsion systems and particularly to apparatus for thepropulsion of submarine vessels. The invention relates more specificallyto apparatus for the surface and underwater propulsion of submarinevessels by the use of high pressure steam. The term high pressure isintended to mean pressures up to or above the order of two thousandpounds per square inch.

The propulsion of submarines on the surface by steam has beenaccomplished heretofore. It has also been known to provide submarineswith compressed air reservoirs to supply air for the operation ofinternal combustion engines while the vessel is submerged.

According to the present invention, a submarine propulsion system isprovided which has all the well-known advantages incident tosteamturbine drives for marine vessels. The instant invention involvesthe use of a steam boiler operated when the vessel is on the surface,accumulators for storing energy in the form of liquid under highpressure and heat, and a steam turbine or engine or combination turbineand reciprocating engine for propulsion of the vessel both on thesurface and when submerge-.1. It also contemplates the emergency use ofa combustion device operable when submerged, if necessary, to producesteam for operating the submarine and/or its auxiliaries.

It is the object of this invention to provide an efllcient propulsionsystem for submarines permitting the utilization of a steam turbinedrive for both surface and submerged maneuvers.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a steam propulsionsystem for submarines which requires a minimum amount of space andweight per horsepower, and which does not involvethe use of heavyelectrical apparatus.

It is another object of the invention to provide a steam propulsionsystem for submarines adapted to be operated under water, from energyaccumulators containing a hot liquid under high pressure, and to providemeans for charging said accumulators rapidly and efliciently.

It is another object of this invention to provide a steam generatingplant for submarine vessels which may be disposed within or without thepressure bull, in order to accommodate balance, disposition of bulk, orconvenience of control in the design of armed submarine vessels. 7

It is the further object of this invention to provide a submarinepropulsion system which vastly increases the utility of this type 01'vessel due to increased speed, increased cruising range,

rapid recharging rates, and increased space for fuel and munitions.

A further object of the invention is the provision of submarinepropulsion apparatus which may be compactly installed and located so asto minimize discomfort to the crew due to fumes and heat, and to providemore space than heretofore for control and munition equipment;

Another object of the invention is the provision of a steam propulsionsystem for submarine vessels having the steam boilers and accumulatorsoutside of the main pressure hull thereby permitting the use of asmaller diameter, more easily streamlined pressure hull which is betterable to withstand greater depths and sudden pressures due to depth oraerial bombs.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be readily apparentfrom the following description of the embodiments of the inventionillustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic elevation view, partly in section, of asubmarine provided with my improved propulsion system.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-: of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic elevation view, partly in section, of amodified form of submarine construction embodying my invention.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating the interrelation and theinterconnections of the various elements in my improved propulsionsystem.

Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, for the purposes of illustration,a submarine pressure hull is indicated by the numeral Ill. The pressurehull it! is provided with the usual compartments for the crew, control,supplies and armament. A compartment l I is provided immediate- 1y abaftthe conning tower l2 and within the pressure hull ill, for housing oneor more (two shown) boilers or heaters IS. A relatively large tank orseries of tanks or pressure vessels l4, hereinafter referred to as anaccumulator, is located within the pressure hull 10. The accumulator Imay be provided with suitable baf-.

fies IE to restrict or prevent excessive surging oi the liquids storedtherein. The accumulator ll may also be provided with a water jacket. IEor other form of efiective thermal insulation to limit the loss of heatfrom the accumulator to the com. partments within the hull. Theaccumulator insulation is preferably in the form of pipes l1.

shown in Figure 2, through which sea water may be circulated by suitablemeans.

The turbine and pump compartment, located aft is provided with suitablesteam turbines and/or other kinds of engines, indicated generally by thenumeral ll, connected through clutches and gearing for rotating theconventional propeller shaft or shafts 58.. A condenser I6 is situatedin the turbine compartment. Auxiliary apparatus including pumps,generators, blowers and the like may also be located in the aftcompartment.

An oxygen-hydrogen combustion apparatus 26, described hereinafter, mayalso be installed in the turbine compartment. As shown in Figure 2, thesubmarine hull I6 is provided with inner walls 2|, containing thevarious compartments, and the space between the hull and the walls 2|may be used for buoyancy and storage tanks.

My improved propulsion system and apparatus will now be described indetail. Referring to Figure 5. the boiler or fluid heater I3 is providedwith an inlet 26 and an outlet 26 for the fluid to be heated. The boiler18 is preferably of the continuous-flow, once-through high pressure typewhich is strong, light-weight in construction and which heats uprapidly. Duplicate heaters suitably cross-connected are preferable. Afluid, e. g., water, is supplied to the heater I! from feedwater supplyor storage tank 21 by pump 26. The water is pumped into the heaterthrough check valve 26 and the inlet connection 25. Fuel, preferably inthe form of hydrocarbon fuel oil, is forced by the pump 36 from storagetank II to the burner 32. Suitable forced draft apparatus (not shown)may be used to promote fuel combustion in the conventional manner. Theboiler draft pipe for exhaust of combustion products extends to theoutside of the compartment, and is provided with water-tight closuresfor use when submerged, it being understood that. the boiler I3 is notoperated when the submarine is propelled underwater. The heater outlet26 is connected through T 63, pipe 84, fitting 35, pipe 26, T 31, andcharging valve 38 to the accumulator tank l4. A stop valve 89 isprovided ad- Jacent the heater outlet 26. A dome 40 at the top of theaccumulator I4 is connected by a superheating or evaporating pipe 4|extending through the interior of the accumulator and connected to thefitting 83 through a valve 42. The accumulator I4 is also connectedthrough pump 28' and valve 29' to the boiler inlet connection to providepositive means for circulation of water in the accumulator through theboiler 13. The fitting 35 is connected through throttle valve 43 andlines 44 and 45 to two steam turbines designated 46 and 41,respectively. The low pressure or exhaust side of each turbine isconnected to the condenser I! by pipe 48 and fitting 48 respectively.Turbine 46 may be a high pressure turbine, and turbine 41 a low pressureturbine for operation as a multl-stage or compound unit- The turbinesmay have separate shafts, as shown, or be arranged on the same shaft. Across connection 56 is provided between the low pressure side of turbine46 and the line 45 extending to the high pressure inlet of turbine 41.By opening valves and 52 and closing valve 56, turbines 46 and 41 can beconnected to operate in parallel. By opening valve 53 and closing valvesII and 52, the steam turbines are connected in series for operation athigh and low pressure respectively. Both turbines are connected bysuitable reduction gearing 54 to the driven shaft 55. The latter shaftis connected by clutch 66 to shaft 51, and through a reversing mechanism56 to the propeller shaft or-shafts 56. A pump 56 is provided fordelivering the condensate from condenser I! back to the feedwater supplytank 21. The feedwater tank or tanks may be relatively small in sizesince the accumulator remains at all times at least partially filledwith water. Where several accumulator tanks are provided, they may beinterconnected with the feedwater tank whereby a discharged accumulatortank may serve as an additional feedwater tank when necessary.

A cruising engine shown diagrammatically at 66 is connected by a clutch6i and reduction gearing 62 to the shaft 51. The cruising engine 66 maybe of the reciprocating piston type and is connected through a steamthrottle valve 68 to the fitting 81. Exhaust steam from cruising engine66 is led by pipes 64 and 65 to a cruising or low pressure turbine 66. Aclutch 61 and reduction gearing 68 connect the cruising turbine to shaft61. The low pressure side of the cruising turbine is connected by pipe68 and fitting 46 to the condenser i6.

' Auxiliary steam generating and propulsion apparatus is provided foruse in emergencies so that a submarine will notbe entirely out ofcommission if the regular boiler accumulator turbine system becomesexhausted or inoperable. The emergency system depends upon an oxygenstorage tank shown at 10, and a hydrogen storage tank shown at 11. Theoxygen tank 16 is connected by line 12 and throttling valve 13 to aburner 14 in an auxiliary combustion chamber 15. The hydrogen tank 1| islikewise connected to the burner 14 by line 16 and valve 11. The burner14 is of the mixing nozzle type which .perrnits a proper mixture ofhydrogen and oxygen to be burned within chamber 15. Water may be addedto the combustion chamber by means of an atomizing nozzle 18 connectedthrough valve 16 to the feedwater line extending from pump 28 to theboiler l3. By means of water added through the nozzle 18, the productsof combustion can be desuperheated to the required temperature, and theresulting steam lead through line 86 and valve 8| to fitting 35 in themain steam piping. The steam generated in the oxygen-hydrogen combustionchamber 15 may be used to recharge the accumulator l4 through valve 38,and/or to drive the main turbines 46 and 41, or the cruising engine 60.

Extensions 82 and 83 on the lines 12 and 16 from the oxygen and hydrogenstorage tanks lead through stop valves 84 and 85 to the internalcombustion cruising engine 86. The exhaust steam from combustion engine86 is connected by line 81 and stop valve 88 to the inlet 65 of thecruising turbine 68, where its remaining pressure may be utilized.Combustion engine 86 is connected by clutch 88 and reduction gearing 62to the shaft 61.

The operation of the above-described propulsion apparatus is asfollows:The submarine is operated on the surface by steam generated in theboilers i8 and'led directly to the main turbines 46 and 41 or to thecruising engine 66 and cruising turbine 66. At any time while thesubmarine is at the surface, the boilers I; may be utilized to chargethe accumulator I4 through valve 88. The accumulator may be charged byadmitting steam into the accumulator tank or tanks partially filled withwater, or may be charged by using pump 28' to circulate water from theaccumulator through the boiler II by way of valve 29 and inletconnection 25. Energy is stored in the accumulator M in the form of hotwater at high temperature and correspondingly high pressure. The hotwater may be accumulated at pressures up to or above the order of threethousand pounds per square inch. Present engineering practice indicatesaccumulator operation over a range of pressures extending from twothousand pounds to the condenser pressure. For propulsion whensubmerged, the boilers 53 are closed down and the stack hatches closed.Steam is bled from the accumulator M by dome 60 into pipe il extendingthrough the accumulator to fitting 33 in the main steam header. Steam isthus supplied for operating the turbines and/or engines as in surfacepropulsion. Exhaust steam is condensed in the condenser 89 and returnedto the feedwater tank 2? for re-use when the submarine rises to thesurface and boilers i3 resume operation.

When first submerged, the submarine may be propelled by using turbinesQ6 and d? in series as high pressure and low pressure turbines,respectively. During the final stages of accumulator utilization, valves58 and 52 may be opened and valve 53 closed to allow expansion acrossboth turbines in parallel directly into the condenser EQ.

After the accumulator becomes discharged, the submarine may be broughtto the surface and the water remaining in the accumulator recharged byuse of the heaters 83. The system described contemplates a power plantthe boilers or heaters of which are capable of developing up to or evenmore than ten thousand horsepower. An accumulator designed to store tenthousand horsepower hours of energy may therefore be recharged within anhour when utilizing the full capacity of the boilers. An accumulator ofthe above capacity would be approximately 110 feet long and 10 feet indiameter if one tank is provided. Four tanks feet in diameter could beused for similar capacity. It is also possible for a submarine with apartially or completely discharged accumulator to rise to the surfaceand completely recharge the accumulator in a relatively short intervalof time.

The oxygen-hydrogen combustion device 29 is provided 'for the generationof steam for use when the accumulator is discharged and the tacticalsituation precludes rising to the surface for accumulator recharging.The internal combustion engine 86, operable on oxygen and hydrogen fromtanks 70 and H provides means for propulsion in event of failure of themain steam propulsion system.

The submarine may be propelled either on the surface or when submergedby the main turbines or the cruising engine and turbine. It consequentlyhas the advantage of high speed operation for all maneuvers.

The modified submarine construction shown in Figures 3 and 4contemplates location of the heater units l3 and the accumulator ll incompartments 99 and 9| outside of the pressure hull 92 and within theouter hull 93. In this arrangement, the pressure hull 92 has toaccommodate only the relatively small high power driving turbines andengines I8 and the control and living quarters, and hence the vessel maybe more fully streamlined. The small diameter pressure hull 92 savesmaterially in hull weight, and through greater strength, provides saferoperating and living compartments. Buoyancy may be secured by separatesmall tanks or chambers 94 (see Fig. 4) within the outer hull 93 butoutside of the pressure hull 92.

The advantages of the above-described system for the steam propulsion ofsubmarine vessels are numerous and fundamental. The elimination ofstorage batteries and heavy electrical apparatus permits theinstallation of increased horsepower boilers. The use of heataccumulators permits the utilization of the same driving turbines andengines for submerged as well as surface maneuvering. The increasedspace provided by elimination of a separate power plant for submergedoperation results in increased range due to the use of largeaccumulators. The elimination of storage batteries and internalcombustion engines provides better living compartment conditions for thesubmarine crew, since it does away with all sources of poisonous andnoxious fumes. The relatively large accumulator tanks provide anadditional safety feature in that the tanks may be quickly blown andextra buoyancy promptly obtained. The use of the heat accumulatorlikewise provides a convenient source of heat for heating thecompartments and for cooking. The ability of the high pressure boilersiii to rapidly recharge the accumulators likewise is an importantadvantage in tactical maneuvers. The fact that the heaters andaccumulator may be positioned outside of the pressure huli provides astronger submarine construe-- -on better able to withstand great depthsand sudden pressures encountered in marine warfare.

Other advantages of my improved propulsion system will be readilyapparent from the description thereof. Obviously, many variations in thenature and arrangement of the elements described will be apparent tothose skilled in the art of marine propulsion. The scope of thisinvention contemplates the installation of any equivalent apparatus andarrangement within the scope of the following claims.

I claim: I

1. In apparatus for the propulsion of submarine vessels, the combinationcomprising a high pressure steam boiler, steam engines and meansconnecting said engines with said boiler for operation of the engines bysteam from said boiler for the propulsion of said vessel on the surface,an accumulator for the storage of heated water under pressure, means forcharging said accumulator from said boiler, means for operating saidengines with steam furnished by said accumulator when the vessel issubmerged, and means including a combustion chamber for generating steamfor operating at least one of said engines when the vessel is submergedand said accumulator discharged, steam being generated in saidcombustion chamber by the combustion of gases therein.

.2. In apparatus for the propulsion of submarine vessels, thecombination comprising a high pressure steam boiler, steam engines andmeans connecting said engines with said boiler for operation of theengines by steam from said boiler for the propulsion of said vessel onthe surface, an accumulator for the storage of heate'd water underpressure, means for charging said accumulator from said boiler, meansfor operating said engines with steam from said accumulator when thevessel is submerged, a. combustion engine for the propulsion of saidvessel submerged when said accumulator is discharged, and meansconnecting the exhaust of said combustion-engine to one of said steamengines for operating the same in conlunction with said combustionengine.

3. In apparatus for the propulsion or submarine vessels, the combinationcomprising a high pressure steam boiler and a source of :tuel forheating said boiler. steam turbines and means connecting said engineswith said boiler tor operation of the engines by steam from said boiler{or the propulsion of said vessel on the surface,

a reciprocating type steam cruising engine also 10 operated by steamfrom said boiler tor propulsion of said vessel on the surface, a heatinsulated accumulator tor the storage of highly heated water underpressure, means for charging said accumulator from said boiler, meansfor operating said turbines with steam furnished by said accumulatorwhen the vessel is submerged, means including a combustion chamber forgenerating steam for operating said cruising engine and turbines for thepropulsion of said vessel submerged when said accumulator isdischarged,-

and a combustion engine for the propulsion of said vessel submerged whenboth said steam turbines and cruising engine are inoperative.

WILLIAM J. BESLER.

